SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Businesses and organizations play an important role in slowing the spread of COVID-19 in the Sioux Falls area. The Sioux Falls Health Department recommends that businesses and organizations with facilities open to the public review and follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance for keeping workplaces, homes, schools, and establishments safe.
These CDC guidelines can be found at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/workplace-school-and-home-guidance.pdf
Additional guidance for businesses can be found at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response.html.
Key points in this guidance include:
- Actively encourage sick employees to stay home.
- Separate sick employees.
- Emphasize staying home when sick, respiratory etiquette and hand hygiene by all employees.
- Perform routine environmental cleaning.
- Advise employees before traveling to take certain steps.
- Limit events and gatherings that require close contact.
People are encouraged to continue practicing social distancing while in public and in the workplace. This means maintaining a recommended distance of 6 feet between yourself and others.
Because human coronaviruses most commonly spread through respiratory droplets, the Health Department would like to remind people to take the same measures that health care providers recommend annually to prevent the spread of the flu and other viruses.
Wash your hands often throughout the day. Use warm water and soap. If soap and water are not available, use alcohol-based hand gel.
- Cover your coughs and sneezes to prevent others from getting sick.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread this way.
- Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious foods.
- Keep surfaces (especially bedside tables, surfaces in the bathroom, and toys for children) clean by wiping them down with a household disinfectant.
- Stay at home if you are sick.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19. You should only wear a mask if a health care professional recommends it. This is to protect others from the risk of getting infected.
For questions, please call the South Dakota COVID-19 Information line at 1-800-997-2880.
For more information on COVID-19 in South Dakota, please visit covid.sd.gov
